Welcome, Hermosa

[Caol Ila]

I felt bad leaving the barn tonight. Hermosa was so cuddly and sweet and nuzzling me and my friend, but box walked a bit when we walked away from her (at 8pm). I said to my friend, "If we get out of sight, hopefully she'll settle." But I wish I could have camped out in the barn. I'm sure she'll settle into livery yard life, but I need to take out lottery tickets or find a better paying job, because horses at home would be pretty awesome. At least the horses are only seven miles away. Gypsum was 30 miles away for years.

 

[Caol Ila]

Well, that went badly. I went to the yard early so I could turn out when there were only a few mares in the field and she could meet the herd in drips and drabs. She walked to the field pleasantly enough, but once I let her go, one of the four mares already in there aggressively chased her. Relentless, head snaking nastiness. Wouldn't let up. She pinned Hermosa against a fence, and Hermosa jumped the damned fence. I shat myself. She cleared it and jumped into an empty field that's currently being rested. It was clear that trying to catch her would scare her even more, and she was kind of fine in that field. Grazing a bit, not panicked. I left her for a few hours, and then returned. Half an hour and a little bit of vague join-up technique later, I caught her. Thank God. She had a few testing baby moments but got into her stable fine and seemed more settled there than she had been yesterday.

So, now what's the way forward? I honestly don't know. I'm terrified of putting her back into that field. That could have gone so much worse than it did. I mean, I know what I would like to do, but it's not totally up to me. In addition to the herd fields, they have lots of smaller paddocks, but they only like to have a tiny number of those in use at any one time. Before I bought Hermosa, YM told me they had no free spaces in those paddocks, and I thought the filly would be fine in the herd because she'd always been in a herd. I have never been so wrong. About anything. In a perfect world, I would turn her out in one of those paddocks with one or two quiet horses. For a while. But the yard doesn't seem keen on being that helpful. Unless they change their tune, I don't know what to do.

Anyone know of any good youngstock livery north of Glasgow? *siiiigh*

But she can sure trot. She jumped the fence about a minute after I took this picture. The horse in the red rug is a nasty piece of work.

 

[ycbm]

Oh lord CI, its awful when the pleasure of getting a new horse is ruined by that kind of worry and stress, I feel so sad for you.

I had a horse who was utterly vile to any new one I brought in, very dangerous. It would take 4 or 5 days, but he was always fine in the end. I how you can sort something staged out for poor Hermosa.

 

[Cortez]

One at a time; always one at a time, until she can have at least one buddy to help her out. Mares are nasty, clannish beasts until they have worked out the herd order,.

 

[littleshetland]

She's extremely Hermosa! Can you put her adjacent to the 'herd' for a few days? she could meet them gradually over the fence? perhaps with an elderly, kindly pony while she gradually meets the others?

 

[Cortez]

She's extremely Hermosa! Can you put her adjacent to the 'herd' for a few days? she could meet them gradually over the fence?

Or even put a line of electric across the field until they have stopped making faces at her?

 

[Caol Ila]

Will she be able to function with adult mares at this point? Do I need to find her a more suitable herd?

 

[littleshetland]

Will she be able to function with adult mares at this point? Do I need to find her a more suitable herd?

Ideally, I think putting her with one or two other youngsters would be good (once they've met 'over the fence' but if thats not possible, try and organise it so she goes out with some kinder companions? as Cortez` says, perhaps some electric fencing to keep her seperated for a while , while everything settles down.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Is the horse in the red rug the bottom of the herd? IME whoever is bottom of the herd will be vile to any newcomer for a short while to ensure that they are no longer at the bottom. If you then added another, the new bottom horse would be the vile one and the now 2nd from the bottom would be fine. It's just how it appears to work with equine social structure.

I'm so glad that she wasn't hurt. Thank goodness.

It would really help you if the YO would be flexible for two weeks or so, so that you can control the introductions carefully.

 

[Caol Ila]

All your suggestions are great. But I desperately need the backing of the staff/management for all of them, and they were not going out of their way to be helpful today. When I asked, "What should I do?" they suggested allowing her to buddy up with somebody. How? I said. Take her on in hand walks with someone, let them meet over stalls doors, they said. Not really ideal. I'm feeling so frustrated and stressed, and I can't stop horses from chasing each other, or rearrange the field.

 

[doodle]

That’s is a very big ask of her. (Not criticising you, more the yard). To get to new yard and straight away asked to go in a big herd. Not surprisingly it went wrong. If yard are not helpful in solving the issue (could she go in the adjoining resting field for a couple of weeks?) then you don’t have much choice but to move.

 

[Caol Ila]

I'm thinly hoping that after the staff have slept on it and had their usual morning meeting (me looking very desperate in the middle of the day when they've got loads of things to do is probably not that useful) that they come up with some safer, more viable ideas. I just need them to shift a bit on their 'no available paddock' hardline and a friendly horse, and it's totally solvable. Several liveries have offered friendly horses.

 

[doodle]

Fingers crossed. Surely if you have other liveries offering horses there shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Glad that she’s ok. Is it normal practice at that yard to put a new horse straight in with an established herd?

I hope that you find a resolution, but alarm bells are ringing, I’m afraid.

 

[Caol Ila]

Fingers crossed. Surely if you have other liveries offering horses there shouldn’t be a problem.

One would think. But they are very protective of their ground. Surely horse welfare and safety is more important, but what do I know.

Glad that she’s ok. Is it normal practice at that yard to put a new horse straight in with an established herd?

I hope that you find a resolution, but alarm bells are ringing, I’m afraid.

A lot of people do what I attempted to do -- turn out the horse early so it meets the other horses slowly. But yeah, they do. So did my last yard. I was thinking it was a UK thing, to be honest, based on my tiny dataset. My barn in the US had "welcome pens" next to each herd pen and newbies spent about a week in the welcome before they were let loose in the herd. A much better system. Never seen that here.

 

[doodle]

.

 

[PurBee]

Id be asking also about using the rested area she jumped into for the other mares to get a chance to slowly accept her..its just for 1 horse, the field wont get ruined.

its amazing she jumped the fence...how tall was it?
...rather than just run from dominant horse her solution was to completely escape the scenario. Being young and being in a friendly herd before, evidently the dominant mare really surprised her.

if others are offering their friendly horse solo paddock to share, that would be preferable.

she looks beautiful!

 

[windand rain]

I always try to quarantine new arrivals for a week or two doesn't always happen as the last newby upset her new owner by destroying the wooden and electric fence that was there to protect her so she had the king pin pony as a field companion before taking time to add the others in one at a time, Bottom pony is still not in with them as she is a witch to the youngsters and might never make it into the herd. Fortunately the dartmoor is perfect he is top of the heap but he is quietly affirmative and is too lazy to chase

 

[Caol Ila]

Id be asking also about using the rested area she jumped into for the other mares to get a chance to slowly accept her..its just for 1 horse, the field wont get ruined.

its amazing she jumped the fence...how tall was it?
...rather than just run from dominant horse her solution was to completely escape the scenario. Being young and being in a friendly herd before, evidently the dominant mare really surprised her.

if others are offering their friendly horse solo paddock to share, that would be preferable.

she looks beautiful!

When she was in the resting field, she went nowhere near the fenceline with the other mares. And that was the safest fence to jump. The others have a stone wall on the other side, and there is a long fenceline along a public road.

She was really scared. Don't think she had ever been chased that viciously in her life. The herd at her breeder's yard was very chilled and once a horse was told off by a dominant horse, the discussion ended there. None this relentless chasing stuff. I'd forgotten how awful herd dynamics can be. Gypsum has been kept as a single or a pair because she spent years being that nasty horse who would chase things endlessly, and it was better for everyone's safety and sanity for her to not be in herds.

 

[McFluff]

Gosh, poor you and Hermosa (she’s stunning BTW). Our yard puts newbies in a field next to the herd and lets them meet over the fence. Usually a week then carefully into herd. But I’ve never seen any behave that badly. No wonder you’re shaken. Hopefully your yard will let you take advantage of one of the kind horse nannies.

 

[Inda]

I’m sorry. At least she’s ok after it. I don’t have any useful suggestion, as you know I gave up and put Carmin in with the geldings. Generally she and the other horses are mutually vile to each other.

She gets along ok with the dales and highlands, I don’t know if it’s based on phenotypes. At the stud hermosa came from the PREs didn’t want to interact with the other breeds, hugely irritating in the livery field.

 

[Caol Ila]

I am considering moving her somewhere more suitable if myself and yard staff/management can't reach an agreement and a plan on a safe way to get her turned out and socializing. I just can't have her being chased over fences. Or in a stable all the time. And some of the fences in that field are super dangerous. We were all lucky that she jumped the safest one.

I really don't want to put her through the stress of moving or me through the stress of having two horses in two places. But I'm looking at all options. Ugh. No idea where she would go, but there have got to be some sort of options out there.

 

[atropa]

It does seem to be, if not a UK thing, a Central Scotland thing to just fire new horses in to existing herds. I cant think of anywhere I've been that has done it really 'the right way', however I generally move with a pre existing herd of 3 mares so they are pretty set.
Afraid I can't think of anywhere particularly suitable for youngsters in the North Glasgow area, I know Easterton used to breed prior to changing hands.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

Will she be able to function with adult mares at this point? Do I need to find her a more suitable herd?

She’s rising three, isn’t she? I think she’ll be absolutely fine with adult mares, I’d just try to find a more appropriate group or somewhere where you could introduce her more slowly.

Mimosa was the same age when we got her. We started in a field on her own, and I confess I did spend most of the day with her. After about a week, we introduced her to two old, quiet mares. It was perfectly amicable and easy for about a month but she became bored with them and they were not sound enough to play with her so she went out with the boys - and loved it.

Would your yard let you fence off a portion of the field with electric fencing temporarily?

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

She's gorgeous, what a shame she's being bullied. I hope you get the situation sorted ASAP x

 

[Lyle]

She can move! Is there anyway you can set up an electric pen in the field? So she can spend a week or two meeting the mob over the fence? Is there a chance you could introduce her to the agro mare in an arena, with Hermosa loose and the mare on a lead? Give her a chance to meet and greet all the horses first?
Mares are totally odd. I had a mare who was obviously having a slight hormonal episode (she'd just gone in foal) I returned her paddock buddy to the paddock after having her out for a few hours, and the in foal mare whent ballistic, like you experienced, head down flat stick galloping and chasing. Was very scary, I eventually lured the one being chased through a gate-way and locked the preggo one on her own! She's totally fine now, I just introduced another (older) mare who hung out in the yard next to her for a few weeks. Apart from one rather unsightly little kicking match, they pretty much got down to eating straight away.

 

[babymare]

She is beautiful. Such a sweet face ??

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Flippin' heck the yard staff are being so unhelpful! Other owners are offering to lend horses but they won't provide a safe space.

Can you electric tape off a paddock inside the mare field?

When I got my gelding I had a paddock split in two for about two weeks with the youngster and companion one side and the rest the other side. It really wasn't a big deal and when the fence came down the horses hardly noticed that it had gone.

The yard has a duty of care, they need to take this seriously!

 

[Caol Ila]

I've messaged the manager about having a sit-down meeting to spitball options. Maybe we can come to a resolution. I don't know, but I did point out that if she jumped the wrong fence, she could end up on a public road. The impression they gave me yesterday was that I made a decision to bring a baby to the yard; it was my fault and my problem to solve, not theirs. Maybe it was stupid, but here we are now. I have had youngsters before and never had this drama -- but it was a different horse, a different herd (mixed adults!), different introduction process, so I genuinely thought it would be fine.

I don't think their introduction system works very well. I know of two adult mares who had to be on a month of box rest within days of moving to the yard. Horses will be horses and do stupid things, but that's not great.

 

[ITPersonnage]

Just to say how sorry I am that her new "home" doesn't seem very open to her needs, not what you were expecting at all Horrified to hear their response to be honest, I bet they were feeling defensive because of the situation but it never helps.